Scauldron's Cove
by Fareway
Summary: Hiccup and the twins get trapped in an unknown cavern that's located deep under the sea. As they explore and search for a way out, they find that they aren't the only ones within the seemingly never ending catacombs.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Toothless bounded endlessly around the room, jumping up to the rafter and back down onto the wooden floor before skipping to his bed rock. Kneading it like a cat for a few seconds, he then hopped off and began stomping on the floor in front of Hiccup while roaring, shaking his head once before sitting down and looking at Hiccup with a crazy stare.

"Would you stay still! I'm trying to draw you." Hiccup complained with a smile. He turned back around to his desk, feather in hand. Dipping the tip in an ink well, he continued with his sketch, eyes focused on his lines. It was the morning hours on Berk, and Hiccup had woken up only an hour ago, by which in that time he and Toothless had breakfast—fish—and yet to take a flight.

Toothless began roaring again, stopping right before he flipped and rolled onto his back, laying there like he were dead; his large eyes staring at Hiccup. Said boy immediately turned around and gaped at the dragon with question, a little concerned for his friend's current state.

"That's it, no more haddock for you! Who knew they'd make you go crazy." Hiccup stated, bringing his attention once again back to his drawing. Toothless rolled over and got up off the floor. He approached his rider, peering over his shoulder as he watched the feather scribble across the page. He moaned and breathed hot air at him, Hiccup's hair blowing into his line of view. He sighed and placed the feather in the ink well. Standing up from his seating position, he turned at looked at Toothless, hands on his hips. Toothless, however, bounded away with joy due to his rider finally listening to him and getting up. It was a different story for Hiccup though.

"Toothless, I don't know what has gotten into ya, but you have never been like this before even when you are excited to go riding." Hiccup announced with all seriousness, but Toothless didn't register the difference in his tone, or at least couldn't in his current state; his eyes remained enlarged while his tongue drooped from his mouth.

"Come on, Toothless, let's go see Gobber."

* * *

"Tell me again what happened." Gobber asked while searching Toothless' mouth. Hiccup was standing beside him while he worked, Astrid and Fishlegs stood at the entrance of the forge.

"He was acting crazy, even more so than he would when he wants to go flying."

"Snotlout crazy…?" Astrid asked.

"…Or the twins crazy?" Fishlegs added.

"Both combined…" Hiccup's eyes moved to the upper right as he thought for a moment; "Minus Snotlout's arrogance."

"Ah ha, there we go!" Gobber exclaimed, pulling away from the Night Fury as he began to cough. Toothless puked up a fish, it sliding off his tongue and onto the floor with the rest of his spit. Gobber picked it up with his prosthetic long-handed tweezers.

"Found the answer! It was a sick fish!" Gobber exclaimed happily while holding up the half eaten fish.

"Uh, yeah that's sick, it just came out of Toothless' stomach; gross." Fishlegs commented, jerking back a little to avoid smelling it. He had bad memories of eating rotten fish before and didn't want to throw up.

"What do you mean it's sick?" Hiccup inquired.

Gobber motioned him to come closer, "See these little green spots around its gills? That means it's ill." Gobber pointed out. Hiccup glanced over at Toothless,

"And Toothless ate it, making him act this way." Hiccup concluded.

"Yep;" Gobber stated simply, walking away and throwing the dead fish out the window.

"Will he be okay?" Hiccup asked, concern evident in his tone.

"It should pass, he's had worse I'm sure. Look, he's already getting better as we speak." Gobber reassured him. Glancing over at Toothless, the dragon looked calmer and seemed to have spent all his built up energy, now lying down with sleepy eyes. As soon as Hiccup knelt down beside him, he lifted his head up and smiled, cooing as he did so.

"Hey there bud, good to have you back to your normal self." Hiccup said as he stroked Toothless' head.

Hookfang and Snotlout flew down and landed just outside of the forge, Astrid and Fishlegs turned around. Not seeing the twins, Astrid spoke up with anger.

"Snotlout, where are the twins?" she asked, hands on her hips and eyes glaring.

"You told _me_ to watch them, what do you think happened." Snotlout replied offensively.

"Where are they?" Astrid didn't want to pick up after their mess, and it wouldn't be just her who had to do the cleanup; Hiccup was the one responsible for keeping an eye out on them and he turned that position temporarily over to her since Toothless wasn't himself. She was not going to be made a fool.

"They flew off, where, I don't know; I'm not an idiot's keeper." Snotlout responded. Hiccup walked out to the entrance, unaware of what was going on.

"What's going on?" he asked with a calm tone.

"We have to go find Ruff and Tuff before they do something stupid." Astrid replied, not happy about it at all. She and Fishlegs hopped onto their dragons, Hiccup glanced over at Toothless who was out like a light, snoring on the floor.

"I don't think he'll be up and flying anytime soon." Gobber commented. Hiccup looked down a bit sad before petting Toothless again,

"I'll be back bud." He whispered before running over towards Stormfly and hopping on with the help of Astrid's held out hand.

* * *

The group soared over the sea, heading away from Berk's shores. After discussing who would search which regions, they split. Snotlout would check the north side, Fishlegs the east and Hiccup and Astrid would cover the south and west.

The three soared closer to the ocean's surface. Astrid looked left while Hiccup looked right. He looked down at the sea, his eyes moving around the horizon and then lifting up to the sky. They were there for a split second before coming back down to examine the horizon again before jerking back up as something caught his attention. From the corner of his eye he spotted something within the clouds. Looking at it further, he knew what, or who, it was.

"Found them," he announced as he pointed upwards. Astrid followed his finger and narrowed her eyes, leading Stormfly up towards the two dots.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were hanging upside down on their dragons, arms dangling above—or below—their heads as their feet wrapped tightly around Barf and Belch's necks. Stormfly flew up to hover right below them and Astrid slapped each of their helmets.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked, irritated.

"Uh, what does it look like we're doing? We're testing to see who can last longer while all of the blood rushes to our heads."

"We have to head back to Berk." Hiccup said.

"Why?" Ruffnut asked. Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other. There really wasn't any specific reason. Hiccup thought for a moment before replying.

"Um, because… there's a…" He looked at Astrid again, she looking as well with equal hesitation. "Uh, a storm, there's a storm coming and my dad wants everyone back."

"Ah man," the twins said in unison. Hiccup and Astrid sighed and smiled at each other, happy that they fell for it—not that they wouldn't.

Barf and Belch twirled around and flew at the same level as Stormfly; the two dragons then making a turn towards Berk.

Suddenly, the ocean below them started to stir, multiple shadows just below the surface moving about in frenzy. The commotion caught the eyes of the twins and their curiosity peaked. They dove down to get a closer look, ignoring the shouts of protest of Hiccup and Astrid.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Get back here!" Astrid yelled as she and Stormfly raced down after them.

"We just want to see what this is." Ruff replied.

"Yeah it could be deadly." Tuff added with glee.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes as he focused on the shape on one of the figures underneath the surface. Recognizing it, his eyes widen as he shouted towards the twins.

"Guys, wait! That's a—" Hiccup didn't get to finish his sentence as the figures emerged. Five Scauldron's roared at them, Barf and Belch immediately halted their descend and flew out of the way just as one of the Scauldron's shot out its boiling hot water. Stormfly, who was chasing after the Zippleback and the twins, narrowly avoided the stream as she dodged to the left rather sharply. The quick motion caused Hiccup to become imbalanced, struggling to grab a hold of Astrid before it was too late. She turned around, feeling his struggles, and gasped as she witnessed him fall from her reach just as she was going to grab him.

"Hiccup!" she screamed as he plummeted.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut quickly turned around and raced towards Hiccup, catching him just before he reached the ocean. His arms where securely gripped within Barf and Belch's paws as the twins cheered and high fived each other for their quick thinking and rescue. Their celebration, however, was short lived as a giant, green Scauldron tail came up and smacked them off course; the four of them falling into the ocean, the teens separating from the dragon just before hitting the water.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Next chapter will be updated Monday, and so on and so forth. And yes, you all know I love cliffhangers.**

**I don't know if I said this before, but my Defenders of Berk based stories I'm doing do not intertwine with each other or connect like my Riders of Berk stories. What happened in one story stays in that story; it has no influence or relations what so ever with my other stories. I know it was kind of my thing to do that, but it also limited what I could write as I had to follow up on past events. That and I am trying to follow up on what the ****_show_**** has rather than my own.**

**With that being said, I wish to inform you guys that I have chapters 2 and 3 done and ready to be posted, but will not be posting them at this moment. Every day, like I have been doing, I will post the next chapter. I know, I'm evil aren't I; I have everything done and yet you guys have to wait an extra 24 hours before reading it. Nah, it won't be much of a difference, for me that is; for you guys, there's no difference at all.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Hiccup lay unconscious on the cold, wet rock, its coloration ranging between a dark blue and green. Hiccup's legs were resting in the water that flowed every once in a while up to his thighs. His environment, from the looks of it, was a cave, a dimly light, damp cave. Water dripped from the stalactites that hanged down from the ceiling. The stalagmites were equally as damp and wet from the various regions that held small pools of blue-green water. A cool ocean blue refraction of the water danced around on the cave's rough walls, reflecting back on the unconscious teen laying on the ground.

His hair was wet, strands sticking together to form numerous clumps. His shirt and pants stuck to his skin, the extra water they held making them a little heavier than usual, his wool jacket and fur boots especially.

His eyes twitched, tightening before fluttering open. His vision was blurry from the water that had gotten into them; using his hand, he wiped it away. His attention turned to another noise beside him, two in fact as both Ruffnut and Tuffnut were waking up as well.

"Where are we?" Ruffnut asked with a weary voice as she was beginning to get up.

"Oh my gosh, we're in Hel!" Tuffnut exclaimed, standing up immediately with tense muscles and large eyes.

"We're not dead." Hiccup stated firmly, lifting himself up onto his knees before standing entirely.

"Oh good, I thought we had to see our grandpa again." Tuff sighed in relief as he turned to look at his sister.

Hiccup didn't need to take a good look at his surroundings to know that they were in trouble. The whole cave looked like it once belonged under water. It was quite large, reminding him of the underground tunnels he found from falling down the well.

He took a glance behind him, seeing the graceful water flow peacefully within the small confines of the puddle. But what caught his attention was the fact that the puddle didn't look at all shallow; in fact, Hiccup assumed the reasons for its green-ish color was that it was deep, really really deep.

He turned back around, questions running through his head. The twin's voices lured his eyes towards them.

"Uh, I know I asked this before, but… where are we?" Ruff asked once more. Tuffnut walked up to the nearest stalagmite and examined it, putting his hand on his chin. He moved onto the next one and sampled some of the cold water off of it with his finger. He sniffed and then licked it, gagging in disgust immediately afterwards. Hiccup and Ruffnut looked at him with repulsion and bewilderment.

"Tuff, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He replied, throwing a question in for an answer.

"It looks like you're being an idiot." His sister, Ruffnut, retorted.

"No, I'm trying to figure out where we are." Hiccup and Ruffnut stood still as they waited for him to continue; their faces both the same, uninterested and doubtful.

"What?" Tuff questioned from the look on their faces.

"And…?" Hiccup replied, trying to get him to continue like he was supposed to.

"Oh, uh… yeah, I have no clue where we are and also…" He gagged once more and pointed back towards the stalagmites. "Don't drink any of that water."

"I could have told you that." Ruffnut retorted again. Hiccup took this moment to thouroughly examine his surroundings. They were obviously in a cave, but where exactly, he didn't know. All of the rocks were in some way damp. He searched him mind for the last thing he remembered and the first thing that came forward was the sea. Then he remembered exactly.

"The last thing I remember was me and Astrid chasing you guys over the ocean just off of Berk." He informed as he walked a little.

"I remember those Scauldron's!" Tuffnut added.

"…And saving you from falling into the sea." Ruffnut added as well, directing it towards Hiccup. They were both quite proud of that.

"Before we… fell into… the ocean." Tuff concluded, now feeling that pride vanish.

"So wait, we're under the ocean?!" Ruff exclaimed, not wanting to hear a yes to her question.

* * *

Astrid searched frantically as Stormfly hovered over the surface of the water. The Scauldron's had disappeared shortly after Hiccup and the twins, which worried her greatly, and she saw so sign of struggle on the ocean's surface.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!" he mumbled as her fear increased. A roar instantly caught her attention as she looked up from the dark blue water and at the dragon that was heading towards her and Stormfly. It was a Zippleback, but just any Zippleback, it was Barf and Belch.

"Guys! You're okay!" She bellowed cheerfully as Stormfly flew closer. Her smiled faded, however, as she noticed no one riding the two heads, nor a third passenger.

"No…" she whispered dreadfully, closing her eyes as she knew she could do nothing else but inform her chief. She opened them again to lead both the dragons back to Berk; the sunny sky failing to reflect her mood.

* * *

"This is all your fault." Ruffnut's voice echoed as they walked through the semi-dark cavern. The cave tunnels were quite large and wide, leading out into even larger apertures.

"No, it's your fault." Tuffnut argued back. He walked behind Hiccup as Ruffnut walked behind him.

"No, I believe it's your fault." This argument has been going on for some time, getting on Hiccup's nerves.

"Guys, it's nobody's fault; we just have to figure out how to get out of here."

"Didn't you say we were under the ocean?" Ruff asked Hiccup. Although she was the one to say it, Hiccup had confirmed it so.

"Yes…"

"So why don't we just swim back to the surface?" Tuff asked, not quite understanding how big the ocean is.

"We don't know how far under the ocean we are; we may not be able to hold our breaths long enough to reach the surface." Hiccup announced, thinking logically.

"So how do we get out of here then?" Asked Ruff.

"I don't know; there might be a passageway that leads up to the surface, like to one of the many caves under Berk. If we can get up there then we can find a way out." Hiccup suggested.

"How do you know these caves connect to the caves under Berk?" Tuff asked.

"I don't, I'm just making an assumption." Hiccup replied.

"Oh," Tuff looked around before whispering to his sister, "Is that good?" he asked. Ruffnut shrugged her shoulders.

"Look, let's just head this way, we're bound to find something." Hiccup suggested, heading off in the tunnel to his left, the twins following his lead.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Thank you all for the reviews and favorites and followers.**

**Next chapter will be posted tomorrow Oct. 29**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

The tunnels had gotten darker as the group made their way down its large corridors. Sight was near to being useless for them now; aiding little in helping them navigate around the rocky floor. Hiccup figured that eventually his eyes would adjust and he'd be able to make out some silhouettes, but this wasn't so.

Every once in a while one of them would trip, knock into another and then a chain reaction would happen on the third. This would often start with Tuffnut, stumbling over a rock and bumping into his sister who would then bump into Hiccup. Because of this, Hiccup made sure he was a little bit ahead of them, just as to not get hit when Tuff tripped. When he would, Hiccup could hear Ruff growl and then Tuff complain as his sister hit him. This had gone on for quite some time before they found something.

Hiccup's stopped in his tracks as he became fixated on a light that shined ahead of them, just around the corner. His sudden halt made Ruffnut bump into him, and Tuffnut bump into her. After Ruffnut gave her brother a glare—everyone knowing what it meant—both of them looked forward to where Hiccup was staring.

"Guys, look. Do you see that?" Hiccup asked, pointing ahead of him towards the light. It was a light green steady glow that illuminated the entire aperture in a soft hue. It seemed unnatural to Hiccup at first, but curiosity grew and he wanted to find out what it was.

Hiccup and the twins glanced at each other with curious expressions before they carefully made their way over. Walking out of the darkened tunnels, they stepped into the large aperture. Small glowing crystals littered the walls and ceilings, a few as large as a grown man's head. In the middle of the aperture was a huge connecting stalagmite and stalactite; on it were a few crystals.

"Whoa," the twins said in unison as they looked around the cave, the light illuminating their faces. Hiccup walked over to the center, and towards the crystals that rested on the pillar-like rock.

"What are these?" Ruffnut asked.

"They look like crystals." Hiccup observed, kneeling down and taking a closer look at one of them.

"Crystals? Yes; we're rich!" Tuffnut cheered, raising his hands up above his head.

"I know what you're thinking Tuffnut, and no, these aren't stones of good fortune." Hiccup informed, turning his head towards Tuff. Quickly afterwards, he focused back on the gems.

"Bummer," Tuffnut replied in defeat, his arms falling back down to his sides.

"Are they dragon eggs?" Ruff questioned.

"No, dragon eggs are round, not sharp with jagged edges… well, as far as I know anyway." Hiccup replied. He had witnessed some strange things from the dragons. With them, it seemed like anything was possible.

"They act like glow worms," Hiccup deduced, reaching his hand out and placing it on the crystal. "It's warm, they give off heat… and… I'm… suddenly…" Hiccup breathed out in soft, barely inaudible gasps. His eyes began to get heavy as well as his body; standing up, he staggered backwards, holding his head before falling down on the ground; the world around him spiraling into darkness. The twins, hearing their friend fall, turned and looked at Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" They yelled as both rushed over to their fallen friend. Ruffnut knelt down beside Hiccup on his left while Tuff stood beside Hiccup on his right.

"Oh no, he's unconscious," Tuff looked up at the crystals, "Ah, they're evil crystals!" He yelled as he picked up a rock and threw it at the one Hiccup had touched, it bouncing off having no effect whatsoever.

"That didn't do anything!" Ruff shouted as she punched him in the arm from where she knelt.

"Well, what do we do?!" Tuff asked, beginning to panic much like his sister.

"I don't know; we have to wake him up." Ruffnut suggested.

"Okay," Tuffnut knelt down as well and grabbed a hold of Hiccup's shoulders. "WAKE UP!" he hollered as he shook Hiccup furiously. Hiccup didn't stir and Tuffnut dropped him back down on the ground.

"It didn't work." Tuff stated factually.

"Obviously," Ruff retorted, standing up.

"Well, I don't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas." Tuffnut defended.

"Who said your ideas are brilliant?" Ruff continued, crossing her arms across her chest. Tuffnut opened his mouth to say something back, but no words came out as his eyes wondered off to the right as he began to think.

"Uh…" he hesitated on an answer, "I don't know, I'll have to get back to you on that." Ruff shook her head before a thought popped into her mind.

"Wait, we could try slapping him; that always seems to work."

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed happily. Ruffnut knelt back down beside Hiccup and slapped him across the face with her hand. Hiccup didn't stir.

"It didn't work."

"No duh it didn't work, you were doing it wrong." Tuff criticized before kneeling down as well and smacking Hiccup on the side of the face. Once again, he didn't stir.

"Yup, it didn't work."

"Genius," Ruff criticized. Another thought came to her and she unraveled her arms.

"Hey, what about water?"

"Bleh, don't remind me." Tuff gagged in remembrance of the taste.

"No, we could use it to wake him up." Ruffnut retorted, getting in Tuffnut's face.

"I knew that." Tuffnut defended, getting into Ruffnut's face. Ruff rolled her eyes and they both separated; each taking an arm, they dragged Hiccup over towards a nearby shallow puddle. After laying him down beside it, Tuffnut bent over and reached to scoop some up.

"Wait!" Ruff shouted, stopping her brother from touching the water. "We have to make sure it's safe." She figured, bending down and placing her hand in the water before jerking it up towards Tuffnut and splashing it in his face. He screamed in protest and began rubbing the liquid away from his eyes.

"There, seems safe enough." She stated with a mischievous smile. Tuff glared at her, bending down and splashing water in her face. Her reaction was the same, screaming in protest and rubbing it out of her eyes. They both did this again, and again; some water spritzing off and landing on Hiccup's face. His nose twitched from the droplets and his eyes blinked open. He groaned as he woke and leaned forward, his hand coming up to his cheeks. The twins stopped their foolishness and looked at their friend.

"Ow," Hiccup moaned out, "Why does my face hurt?" Ruff and Tuff looked at him with guilty expressions, their eyes darting every which way before landing back on him.

"Uh… you must have hit your face off of the ground when you fell." Tuff lied. Ruff shook her head in agreement.

"What happened to me?" Hiccup asked, bringing his hand up to his forehead as his eyes closed, his voice trailing away. He felt incredibly weak and exhausted, his arms and legs hurt and his hand felt like it was burning—but the sensation wasn't extreme.

"You touched one of the crystals and then passed out." Tuff answered him, then his face lite up, "Hey Ruffnut, go touch one." He dared his sister, pushing her towards one.

"Ow, hey!" she knocked his hands away from her and then punched him in the face, continually slapping him as he protested in pain.

Hiccup opened his eyes again and looked over at the twins. He watched for a few seconds as Ruffnut beat Tuffnut, then Tuffnut fighting back and both of them began hitting each other.

He sighed, "Why did I have to get stuck with the twins?"

* * *

**A.N.**

**You guys will never believe what happened to me! I lost my flash drive that contained all of my stories. Though of course they are already posted, this chapter of Scauldron's Cove was not and I had to re-type it all over again. I don't know if I'll ever find it again, but from now on, I'm keeping my stories on my documents tab under my name. So yeah, that's why this story is late. I had it practically all done and then, poof, GONE.**

**Other than that dilemma, I hope you guys had a great read and thank you all for the views.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Astrid walked across the docks with Stormfly, her head bowed and her movement sloppy. She sighed, looking up at the sunset that shone before her with a sad expression. A thought crossed her mind, back when flight was temporarily banned and Hiccup talked about how he and Toothless would take a lap around the island. She wished she would be able to see they up there in the sky, or at least hear that Night Fury call again. Toothless wasn't exactly in good spirits at the moment, haven't been since Hiccup and the Twins disappeared. He was very distant from everybody, always sitting down by the beach looking out at the ocean, or sitting on one of the high level rocks just above the village staring out at the horizon. He wouldn't even go back to his bed in Hiccup's room to sleep; he'd always be outside, watching, waiting.

When Astrid got back with the information of the missing twins and Hiccup, Toothless had just gotten over his little illness and was expecting to see his rider. But as Astrid was the only human with the two dragons, Toothless became confused and followed Astrid the whole way from the forge—where Astrid asked Gobber where Stoick was—up to the Great Hall. And just like a Night Fury, he understood what was being said, sensed that unnatural dread from the chief when the news was broke, and knew why the entire dragon academy left soon after. He watched as ships left and came back with nothing, the chief and the other teens leaving and coming back with nothing, over and over again. Instead of going with them, not like he'd be able to, he searched the beach, every inch of it, for any signs of his little Hiccup and the other two riders. But just like the other dragons and the boats, he came back with nothing. All Toothless could do now was watch and wait, stay alert and stand guard. He knew Hiccup wasn't gone, just lost somewhere. He also knew that Hiccup was searching to find Berk just as much as Berk was searching to find him.

* * *

Hiccup's metal leg stepped out into the aperture, this one being incredibly enormous compared to the last ones they were in. Ever since they found those energy-sucking crystals, they couldn't go anywhere without seeing more. That was good, and bad; good because it provided light and warmth, bad because they had to make sure not to touch any or else end up fainting again from lack of energy as Hiccup so unwilling experienced.

Their venture further through the seemingly endless catacombs brought them to a large opening where a waterfall spritzed its water out into a very large puddle, the water then flowing down separate streams and into other smaller puddles of water. The air was moist and fresh, green plants actually growing on some of the rocks. They almost looked like seaweed, covering some of the rock like pillars and stretching the whole way up to the ceiling.

It fascinated Hiccup to no end to see a place like this, warm, plant life, light, fresh water from the waterfall; quite an ideal place for an animal to survive; which is why he was being so precautious at the moment. The twins, however, were not.

"I spy with my little eye something… tan, with some brown and green, a little grey here." Tuff described.

"Hiccup." Ruff answered. Hiccup rolled his eyes as he walked ahead of them. A noise off in the distance caused him to stop and scan the environment.

"Alright, my turn;" Ruffnut said. "I spy with my little eye something… kind of tall, has two legs and two arms, well actually, only one leg and two arms."

Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows and glanced back at Ruffnut.

"Oooh, oooh, ooooooh, I got this!" Tuff exclaimed as he struggled with his brain. "I give up." Ruffnut shook her head.

The noise sounded again, this time Hiccup recognized it and he lowered himself closer to the ground. This action caused the twins to look over in his direction.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Ruff asked; neither of them had heard the noise.

"Get down, I heard something; I think it was a dragon." Hiccup informed, motioning them to get down. Ruff did so and moved over beside Hiccup, but Tuffnut kept standing.

"That's ridiculous, we're under the ocean, what's a dragon going to be doing down—WHOA, what is that?!" Tuffnut moved from one subject to the other, pointing ahead of them before dashing off towards the thing he saw.

"Tuffnut!" Hiccup called out for him.

"He's such an idiot." Ruff criticized. She glanced over at what her brother was heading to and her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "Whoa…" she gaped before getting up and racing over towards it as well.

Hiccup face palmed his forehead before going after them, but more quietly.

"Guys there's something here, we need to be quiet." He said as he made his way over to them. They were standing by a relatively small rock that was nestled on top of a pile of green seaweed looking plants beside on of the many pillars. The rock was round and decorated with a marble looking mixture of green and blue.

"Look at it, it's so cool looking." Tuffnut commented. Hiccup walked up to them, glancing at the stone before turning around to check his surroundings.

"Just make sure you don't touch—"Hiccup was saying before looking back towards the twins, who were touching the weird looking rock. "And they're touching it." He said with a deadpan look.

"Whoa," Tuff said as he moved his hand across the surface of the rock.

"It's smooth, and shiny." Ruff complemented.

"And pretty, can we take it with us?" Tuff asked, looking at Hiccup who was walking towards them.

"No!" Hiccup replied, feeling irritated by their incompetence.

"Aw come on, it's not poisonous like the one you touched." Ruffnut pleaded. Hiccup glared at her, looking down at the so called rock before realization struck him.

"Guys, wait; that's not a rock, it's—"Another sound echoed across the aperture, this time louder and closer. Hiccup moved his body up against the rock pillar, the twins right behind him, as he peered out over the side and looked around before his eyes landed on something. Up ahead was a large, green Scauldron, the maker of the sound they heard, obviously its roar. It looked around the floor for a bit before moving towards another weird looking "rock" that was comfortably sitting upon a pile of plants like the one they were beside.

Scanning the aperture more, Hiccup noticed more of these "rocks", some grouped in two or three while most had only one. They watched as another Scauldron came up from the depths of the large puddle next to the waterfall, two more coming afterwards.

"Oh this isn't good. We are trespassing on territory of a highly dangerous dragon. And you know what's worse?" Hiccup asked, turning to look at the twins.

"No, what?" Tuff asked.

"We are trespassing on territory of a highly dangerous dragon's nesting-ground. And those aren't rocks, they're eggs," Hiccup said pointing at the egg behind them. "Their eggs." He finished while pointing at the Scauldrons across the aperture.

"That's bad right?" Ruff asked.

"Yes, Ruffnut that's very bad. You do not come between a mother dragon and her egg." Hiccup stated as he turned back around to watch the Scauldrons.

"So what would a Scauldron do if it found us with one of the eggs?" Tuffnut asked, looking behind them.

"Probably attack, why?" Hiccup said.

"Because I think that's what it's doing right now!" Tuff yelled, both Ruffnut and Hiccup turning around to see an angry thin Scauldron charging them. The twins both screamed as the dived out of the way, Hiccup accidently tripped while trying to get up and was now trapped against the rock pillar.

The Scauldron shot its head down, grabbing Hiccup's metal leg and hauled him up off the ground. He screamed as he hung upside down, utterly defenseless and at the mercury of the Scauldron.

"Ruff, Tuff, help me!" He shouted.

"I'm out of here!"

"See ya!" They said as both teens ran off.

"That's not helping!" Hiccup yelled at them. The Scauldron's eyes followed the twins, getting wide as it watched them run towards another nest. It swung its head to the left and flung Hiccup over into a puddle before running towards the retreating twins.

"It's after you!"

"It's after you!"

"No it's after you!"

"No it's after you!" they argued as they pushed each other while running away; the Scauldron hot on their tails. Once they got to the nest, they tried hiding behind the egg. The Scauldron stopped in front of them and roared.

Ruff glanced down at the egg, "This probably isn't our best idea."

"It certainly isn't the worst though," Tuffnut replied with a chuckle. The Scauldron mother roared again, the twins screaming and running away in opposite directions. The Scauldron stayed by its nest as it glanced between the two nitwits. Ruffnut ran out of the aperture and down a nearby tunnel, disappearing around the corner. Tuffnut wasn't as lucky as he tried rounding a corner only to be met with another angry mother Scauldron, this one, unlike the last, having its belly full of hot water.

Hiccup took in a deep breath as he broke through the surface.

"Man that's deep!" He said as he climbed out of the water. He sighed, "It's a good thing it grabbed my prosthetic, or else I'd be dead within twenty four hours." Hiccup gasped as he saw Tuffnut backing away from a very, very angry mother Scauldron; the distance between them too close for Hiccup's comfort. He rushed over, getting closer to them before stopping and looking around for something to use. He stopped at one of the crystals; looking up at the Scauldron and then back down at the crystal. He back up before running forward, kicking the crystal with his metal leg and watching as it flew across the room and hit the Scauldron in the face.

The green sea dragon shrieked as the gem collided with its face, turning around and running away. Tuffnut ran off in the direction his sister went, going down the tunnel and also disappearing around the bend. Hiccup chased after him and met up with the two as they were leaning against the wall breathing hard.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked, stopping in front of them while looking concerned.

"I think; I almost died." Ruff breathed out.

"You almost died?!" Tuff replied.

"Look, from now on, we stay low; we stay **quiet**, and we don't** touch anything**!" Hiccup commanded.

"Gotcha," Tuff answered with a thumbs up.

"Understood," Ruff responded as well.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Hiccup, Ruffnut and Tuffnut did their best to sneak through the short tunnel and avoid being spotted by the Scauldrons. The cove was enormous and the Scauldron mothers seemed to be everywhere, one would seem to be the way out when it'd only lead them to another section of the nesting-grounds. The three were currently hiding behind another one of those rock pillars when Hiccup poked his head out only to quickly retract it back when a very close Scauldron came into his view. He brought his pointer finger up to his lips while looking towards the twins. They were practically on top of each other, staying as close to Hiccup as possible and—finally—obeying his orders. They nodded their heads and Hiccup looked away, back to the Scauldrons to see when they could make a run for another, safer place to hide. Ruff looked down at her brother and shushed him, imitating what Hiccup did. He glared at her and then shushed her back, the two beginning to get into a repeated pattern before Hiccup turned back around. They stopped their moments all together as soon as they saw him jolt his head towards them. Hiccup furrowed his eye brows, feeling as if he might have missed something, but shook it off and pointed to his right. He leaned closer and began to whisper as quietly as possible.

"There's another cave opening over there; we can sneak by the Scauldrons one at a time."

"Okay," ruff replied silently.

"So who goes first?" Tuffnut asked in a whisper. They all looked at each other, but it was Ruff and Tuff that had that look of importance. They opened their mouths to argue, but Hiccup immediately stopped them by bringing his hands up and covering their mouths.

"In order to save us the argument and possible risk being discovered, I'll choose." Hiccup removed his hands and they shook their heads that they understood. "Ruff, you go first." Hiccup said, Ruff did a victory fist pump and Tuff looked insulted.

"Why does she get to go first?"

"I based the decision alphabetically. R comes before T." Hiccup stated.

"No it—wait…" Tuff replied, pausing to think and sounding out the alphabet. Hiccup shook his head and signaled Ruffnut to go. The two poked their heads around the corner and saw the Scauldron's looking away.

"Go," Hiccup ushered, Ruff getting up and scurrying over to the other end. She ducked behind the tunnel's rock and took a peek out. She looked over at Hiccup and gave him a thumbs up. Hiccup veered his eyes back to Tuffnut who was still silently sounding out the alphabet.

"O, P, Q… crap, what comes after Q?"

"Tuffnut!" Hiccup growled silently, getting Tuff's attention quick.

"Wha…"

"It's your turn, go." Tuff tip toed out behind his cover and quickly made his way over to his sister. Both of them looked back at Hiccup, Ruffnut shaking her head no saying the coast wasn't clear, and Tuffnut shook his head yes saying the coast was clear. Hiccup mentally slapped his forehead.

Suddenly a Scauldron walked in between them, alerting Hiccup fully as he rapidly got up and moved around the pillar before the dragon could spot him. The twins obviously gasped and looked at each other before glancing back at the Scauldron and moving away from view as the beast turned its head in their general direction. The tunnel curved upwards making the trek for the twins a little difficult. It stopped into a small opening, giving them a good view of the aperture that they were once in.

Hiccup glanced around the corner and spotted them up at the look-out. They waved their hands at him with smiles on their faces.

"Oh, great," he muttered to himself. His attention was diverted once more as the Scauldron before started to walk around the pillar. Hiccup slid carefully to keep out of its view before dashing off to another rock and hiding behind it. One mother Scauldron caught his attention as the dragon moved her egg onto one of the seaweed nests by a small group of the energy-sucking crystals.

"Wow," he said to himself. "They purposely place their eggs near those gems. It must keep them warm." He inquired. He then shook his head and leaned against the rock.

_Focus Hiccup, you're not here to gawk at the dragons. Even though it might be a good opportunity to discover more about them—NO!_

He shook his head again and glanced back over his cover. The coast was clear and he swiftly rushed over to the tunnel the twins were currently hiding in. As soon as they met up, Hiccup asked them if they had found a way out; Tuffnut gave him the good news and pointed behind him; a small opening within the rock. A tight squeeze, but they could handle it.

Going in, they had to walk sideways as the width of the hole was not ideal with their body frames. The light from the crystals that littered the cove began to diminish as they journeyed further through the small hovel.

* * *

Thornado landed right beside the Haddock house, allowing Stoick to jump off. Said chief stood in front of the door and sighed, bowing his head and closing his eyes. He had one hand on the door, ready to open it, but never made the motion to do so. Coming home without his son, going to bed knowing no one occupied the bed upstairs, and waking up alone didn't feel right to him. That might have even been an understatement.

A thump caused him to open his eyes and look calmly to the right. Toothless, who had jumped down from the roof, walked up to Stoick, a sad look on his face as once again, he had to spend another night without his Hiccup. He sat down in front of the chief, his eyes wondering from the ground to Stoick and back.

Stoick patted Toothless' head, "Don't worry Toothless, we'll find him." Toothless' wide, drossy eyes enlarged and his pupils turned into slits. His ears perked straight up and he shook Stoick's hand from his face. Tilting his head to the right, then the left, he looked around, sniffing at times as if on alert.

Though Stoick would initially pry to find out what was wrong with the Night Fury, he was just too tired from the long day, and a little depressed, to care at the moment. He shook his head and opened the door, walking inside. Knowing Toothless would not be coming in, as he's being standing guard outside ever since Hiccup and the twins disappeared, Stoick closed the door behind him.

Toothless continued to look around, his ears shifting every which way, trying to pin point the sound he was hearing. He jumped back on top of the roof and balanced himself on his back legs like a meerkat. His eyes never regained their oval forms as he continued to listen on the strange, yet unholy sound he heard off in the distance.

* * *

**A.N.**

**I'm sorry for the long wait guys. And I'm also sorry for this chapter being small. I've been getting stressed out recently with college. I wrote this chapter at 2 in the morning because I couldn't sleep. But besides that I have good news.**

**PLEASE READ:**

**I've still been getting quite a bit of feedback from ****_It Comes at Night_****—my one story with the Banshee. How would you guys feel if I would bring that creature back? It wouldn't connect with the old one, but it would have all of the Banshee's abilities and desires. Share with me what you think either via PM or review; Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

It has been days since they last saw light, sunlight that is. It's been hours since they last saw the soft green glow of the crystals in the Scauldron nesting-grounds. The darkness was all the light the three teens had, their eyes adjusted to the point that they could see the dark forms of the rigid rocks around them, to know when to duck their heads or step over a potential trip. Though it aided in their navigation through the darkness, Hiccup and the twins didn't like the darkness one bit. Tuffnut was personally afraid of it, but Ruffnut and Hiccup got an eerie feeling from the shadowing ghosts. They've been in dark caves before, Ruff and Tuff especially, but no cave was like the one they were in now. It felt like something was watching them.

Tuffnut screamed and rushed over, jumping on to his sister's back who stumbled from the sudden weight and ran into Hiccup. The two gasped in response and looked at Tuffnut.

"What, what is it?" Hiccup urged.

"Something touched me!" Tuffnut half screamed in response. Ruffnut looked around, not really seeing anything—go figure—and was about to drop her brother in annoyance before the thing touched her. She dropped her brother anyhow and ran behind Hiccup.

Hiccup could see something on his prosthetic leg, knowing what the metal limb looked like as if it was his real leg, he knew there wasn't a small bump by the spring. Narrowing his eyes, he kneeled down on his left knee and examined the small thing closer. He sigh, smiled and rolled his eyes, though the twins could on hear his sigh.

"Guys, it's just a salamander." Hiccup held it out to them to take a closer look. "See," Ruff and Tuff scanned the thing before they retracted their heads in disgust.

"Bleh, its creepy looking." Tuff commented.

"Tuff, you can barely see it." Hiccup retorted.

"I don't need to see it to know its creepy looking." Tuff argued back. Hiccup rolled his eyes again and put the little fella down on a nearby rock. The cave was quite damp, a perfect place for salamanders.

After getting up, a wave of lightheadedness swept over Hiccup; placing a hand on his forehead, he sighed and balanced himself out before tipping over and passing out. It was from the lack of sleep, Hiccup knew this. They hadn't been able to sleep in hours, and those hours could very well have been a day or two.

Ruffnut yawned and soon after so did Tuffnut. Hiccup knew by this that they were feeling just as exhausted as he was.

"I'm tired," Ruff complained.

"I'm hungry," Tuff added.

"I'm cold," Ruff added again.

"I'm tired too, but we need a camp fire if we're going to go to sleep, it's too cold down here to risk it." Hiccup explained.

"Make a fire, with what? We don't have our dragons, and I doubt those Scauldrons back there are going to be willing to help out." Tuffnut

"Tuffnut, Scauldrons shoot boiling water, not—"Hiccup tried to clarify.

"Whatever, and besides, we don't even have anything to start the fire with; believe me, I learned that the hard way." Tuff interrupted. Hiccup just looked at him.

"Yeah, didn't it go something like this?" Ruff said before she pounced on Tuff and slammed his head against the stone floor. His helmet skid across the rock and a few sparks flew. Hiccup's eyes grew form the intrusion of light in the darkness, it wasn't hard to miss.

"Ruff, do that again." Hiccup suggested as he took one step closer.

"Uh, okay." She then lifted her brother back up and was ready to slam him into the ground again, but Hiccup stopped her.

"No, I mean…" Hiccup finished his sentence via demonstration, taking Tuff's helmet and keeling down on the cave's rocky floor.

"Hey, now my head's cold." Tuff complained. Hiccup skid the metal helmet across the rock, more sparks coming out of the combination. Hiccup looked up at the twins with a smile; the twins looked at each other and smiled.

"We are so brilliant." Ruff gloated.

* * *

The teens had a small fire going, sitting around its flames forming the shape of a triangle. Hiccup leaned against a rock, his arms folded and his hands tucked underneath his wool jacket. His head was tilted slightly to the right, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling in smooth rhythm. Diagonally across were the twins, they too also resting their backs against some rocks. Tuffnut was snoring to the left of Hiccup, his hands laying limp on the floor, his mouth wide open and his head tilted backwards against the rock's top. Ruffnut was sleeping off to Hiccup's right, rather rest against the rock, she lay on the rock floor beside it, curled into a fetal position as she too slept—more soundly than Tuffnut.

Black eyes watched the fire burn, though its flames were small, it almost seemed painful to watch. Within the shadows, the creature was nearly invisible; your only reliance to see it was by sound. It's large, thin boney form crawled down from the cave's ceiling, sharp claws silently clanking against the stone texture. It looked like a skeleton with black, leathery skin still clinging to its bones. Its wings were joined with its hollow arms, much like a Nightmare's, folding like a symmetrical paper airplane.

The creature halted its movement just behind Hiccup, letting out a hiss that echoed off of the walls. Hiccup and the twins moved unconsciously from the sound, repositioning their self or moving their heads in the other direction.

Their heartbeats pounded in its ears, the creature using said rhythms to pinpoint which had what it wanted, if any. The loud one didn't, the balled up one didn't, the last one…

The creature moved closer, hiding behind the rock Hiccup was resting against. Moving its head closer, the thin, needle like tentacles that attached to the creature's neck approached Hiccup's neck.

Tuffnut stirred, groaning something random before jolting awake and blinking his eyes open. He looked around for a bit before looking at the fire, remembering where he was. Something in the corner of his vision caught his attention; staring where Hiccup lay asleep, he thought he was seeing something behind him. He squinted his eyes to see better, but he wouldn't really want to. What he could see looked like something from Hel, a creature's face with no lips and its large, long and sharp grey-ish teeth curving out like a chimera's.

His eyes grew from slits to complete circles; jolting backwards against the rock, he screamed. His shouts caused the creature to retreat back into the shadows and the teens to wake up. Ruffnut gasped and jolted straight up, Hiccup doing the same, both of them looking at Tuffnut as scrambled against the rock.

"Tuff, what's wrong?" Hiccup asked. Tuffnut just pointed behind Hiccup and uttered random non-existing words.

"Tahhheahheba, tahhhahagigiba!"

"What?" Hiccup was confused beyond return.

"Oh great, he forgot how to speak again." Ruff criticized while placing her hands on her hips, standing over her brother. Hiccup glanced behind him, but saw nothing. He got up and went beside Tuffnut, still looking where his friend was pointing.

"I-I-I-I—"

"Come on Tuffnut, spit it out." Hiccup urged.

"I saw something, it was right behind you." Tuff whispered. Right after he notified them of his sighting, a hiss echoed off the cave walls. The three of them came so close together they almost seemed like one mass.

"What was that?" Ruff asked, shivering from being cold and the fear that suddenly crept up her back.

"I don't know." Hiccup replied, feeling the same way as Ruffnut.

Another hiss and then a clicking sound echoed down from the ceiling.

"AH, I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!" Tuff screamed as he dashed off down the tunnel, following him was his sister and very soon after her, Hiccup. His movements were followed by black eyes as he ran towards, directly below, and then behind the creature, now running away with the other two. The creature crawled along the walls, before jumping down to the floor and then following the three teens.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Hey guys, I've got some more news. For my next story, which is posted on my profile, I was thinking about including Heather in it. There's not going to be any HiccupXHeather or HiccupXAstrid romance goop, just friends meeting back up with friends. She doesn't play a significant role in the story, trust me, but she will be a part of it.**

**Thank you for the feedback and continuation in following this story! My apologies for any typos  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Five feet ran across the rocky surface of the floor, the three teens moving as fast as they could through the darkness. With adrenaline pumping though their bodies their senses were peaked, allowing them to hear better, run faster, and actually make out what was in the shadows—for the most part anyway. However, that adrenaline rush gave them an extreme disadvantage as the Banshee was now hungrier than before; the adrenaline acting as a seasoning. Its desire to feed has increased and its will to catch the freeing prey was "off the charts."

"Do you see it?!" Ruffnut yelled, looking behind her but seeing nothing.

"No," Hiccup replied.

"Trust me, you don't want to see it!" Tuffnut informed. Another hiss echoed off the walls, reaching the teen's ears and sending chills up their spines.

"It's right behind us!" Hiccup said, glancing behind, but once again seeing nothing. Turning back around he bumped into Ruffnut, who then bumped into Tuffnut.

"No, it's in front of us!" Tuff screamed as he pointed forward. Neither of them could see it, but they did hear it breathing. The next thing they knew, they were down on their knees with their hands covering their ears; a loud, piercing scream pounding against their eardrums, causing pain in their heads and turning their vision to vertigo.

The twins fell down, unconscious and vulnerable. Hiccup was very near to join them when suddenly the sound stopped. But before he could retaliate, something pounced on him, sliding on his back as the beast pinned his arms and legs down. Another roar erupted and then a burning pain shot through his neck, traveling down his back, up his abdomen and then striking his chest. His eyes grew to their largest length before shutting all together as his teeth gritted from the pain. He tried to scream, but his shouts turned into chokes as his breath vanished from his lungs. He dare not move his limbs as they too were now burning, every inch of movement he made only created more pain.

"S—Stop…" he whispered, having little strength to do or say anything else. An unholy hiss sounded close to his ears as if the response from the beast.

Hiccup gulped down a few more breaths, his head beginning to feel light. His vision, though he couldn't see anything, began to fade. His sense of reality turned into a pit of pain as the agony only grew and his strength ran away from him. It felt like his energy was being sucked out of him; or rather, his blood.

The last thing he heard was his heart beating in his ears. The burning sensation turned into a chilling cold, and then the pain changed into numbness. His body felt cold, uninhabitable almost. It was a feeling like no other, an experience never to be learned.

He was still awake when the monster released itself from him; he was still awake when the beast removed its weight from his unresponsive limbs; he was still awake when he was lifted up and taken someplace else; he was still awake when he heard the thing leave and come back with his friends.

He was still awake, but his body felt dead.

* * *

Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout flew down from the sky, landing right outside of the plaza, in front of the Haddock house; another day, another unsuccessful search.

A Thunderdrum call erupted from the sky, the teen's heads lifting up to watch their chief and Gobber come down and land in front of them.

"Did you find anything?" Stoick asked, his voice holding a tint of desperation.

"No, sir." Astrid replied, looking down at her hands once the news was said. Stoick sighed and looked down as well.

Suddenly, Toothless' head jumped up. Where he was once lying down on the roof of Stoick and Hiccup's house, he was now sitting up straight like a guard dog, ears perked at a ninety degree angle, eyes wide and turned towards the forest region of Berk. He got up on his legs and veered around facing the teens and the two adults. Roaring madly, he got their attention quick. He hopped down from the roof and roared at them again, turning around toward the direction of the noise and then roaring once more.

"What's wrong with him?" Snotlout asked, pointing down at Toothless. The other dragons heard it as well, perking up and tilting their heads to better pinpoint the sound.

Stoick sighed, "He's was like that last night." He addressed the young vikings; "Toothless, I'm sorry, but we don't have any time for whatever is wrong." Toothless roared at Stoick this time, not out of anger, but out of frustration and rush.

"Come on, let's do another search; we'll never find Hiccup if we just stay here." The chief spoke, he and Thornado, as well as Gobber, flew up and started towards the sea. The teens followed, the dragons rejecting them for a bit before complying and following the Thunderdrum out to sea.

Toothless roared out, trying to get their attention and bring them back, but he could not talk and they didn't know what he and the others were hearing. There was only one thing to do and that was to find the noise… alone.

* * *

Ruffnut's eyes blinked open, not much of an adjustment from the blackness on the inside of her eyelids and the darkness that was outside, or rather the aperture of the cave. She groaned, trying to move her arms, legs, maybe her torso, but nothing would respond. Struggling a little, she learned she was trapped in some sort of web-like cocoon, and with her was her brother. He was trapped in the same cocoon as her, except on the other side.

Dangling in the middle of the aperture was another cocoon, secured from the top as well as the bottom. Within the web-like cocoon a figure was trapped, just like the twins. Upon closer inspection, Ruffnut recognized the metal leg, her eyes widening as she saw her friend unconscious in front of her.

"Hiccup," she whispered, saying his name again a little louder as she got no response the first time. But in a second attempt, the result was the same.

"Huh, wha," Tuffnut said as he woke up. Immediately afterwards he began to struggle within the bounds of the cocoon, jerking Ruffnut around a bit.

"Stop it you idiot, we can't get out." She retorted. By this time, Hiccup managed to wake up, shaking his head to free his mind from the dark haze. He didn't open his eyes mainly because he knew there would be nothing to see.

"Hiccup, you're awake!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"Ah good, get us out of here!" Tuffnut exclaimed afterwards.

"I can't move," Hiccup simply replied, his voice sounding a little weak.

"Then what do we do?" Ruff asked.

"Yeah, we have to get out of here." Tuff added.

Hiccup focused on his breathing, his mind unable to think of an escape. He didn't reply to them because he didn't know what to say and he felt himself getting weaker.

* * *

Toothless sniffed the ground around him for a couple of minutes, trying to determine the smells that were coming in. He was in the middle of Berk's forested region, coming a long way from the village especially on foot. He hopped over a fallen log and then jumped onto a nearby boulder. He began sniffing the air, lifting his head up higher with one paw curled in and off the ground. His ears perked straight up when he heard a noise, a flapping noise. He ducked down low to the rock before hopping off and trying to hide most of himself underneath it. A shadow past over him, but he did not see anything up above.

Narrowing his eyes, Toothless slid out from underneath the rock and searched the tree tops for any dragon that might have flown by. His nose caught a scent and he followed it, heading left from his current position.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Not too much of a cliffhanger… but I have some more GOOD NEWS! I'll be able to update tomorrow and Sunday! YAAAAAAAY!**

**I wish to thank all of you who read, reviewed, followed, favorite, and my apologies for missing any typos.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

A reverberating roar bounced off the trees, its high pitches claiming Toothless' attention. He ran through the forest as fast as he could, sniffing the ground periodically and scanning the sky for any sign of the maker's form. Another roar emitted, sounding very nearby. Stopping, Toothless looking around then proceeded to sniff the ground.

Above him, perched on a tree branch, stood the dark creature; staring down at Toothless with its black eyes, remained absolutely still before hissing out a threat.

Toothless stopped sniffing, lifting his head up slowly until his eyes met with the creatures'. The thing let out another hiss, and this time Toothless hissed back; he didn't like the vibe emanating from this dragon and he did not like the fact that it was on Berk.

The creature roared, standing up on its two long and boney legs and spreading its wings out, before taking flight and dashing off with incredible maneuvering and speed that was eerily similar to Toothless'.

Toothless roared and dashed off after it. A scent caught his attention the moment he saw the other dragon. It was familiar to him, but with how faint it was, he couldn't identify who it belonged to. However… he could find out.

* * *

The creature flew past the trees, veering left and right with expertise. It knew that blasted Night Fury was trying to follow; why it wouldn't fly was beyond it, but because of its' supposed grounded trick, the beast saw a perfect getaway. If it could lose the Night Fury within the forest, then it would be able to fly back to its hovel and feed off of its newly captured prey once more. Such precious blood is not found every day, nor week, month year, even decade. It's rare, one of its' kind would be lucky to find such a specimen. And a human too, the top of the food chain as they love to call themselves. Blasted two-legged things… it must thank them thoug, the village on this island, for breeding it a marvelous _delectable_.

Looking back, the creature noticed the Night Fury still keeping up, though quite far behind. It couldn't go up to the sky, the sun was out and the shade of the trees was protecting it.

They were nearing the hovel, that irritating Night Fury had to go!

The beast swerved over to the left before descending downward and landing on a boulder. Balancing itself on top, it perched there, waiting for its adversary to arrive. This was _his_ territory, this was _his_ prey, and he was going to defend it.

* * *

Toothless came to a halt as he found himself under a large canopy of trees, the other dragon perching on a boulder in front of him. The scent was stronger now, not that Toothless knew why, and he figured out who it belonged to. It wasn't one person but two, the twins, Hiccup's friends; those two young humans that would always hit each other and shove their faces into the ground. They were the riders of the Zippleback within his group, Barf and Belch. If the twins were here, then his little Hiccup must be, and the way this thing seems to be staring Toothless down, the territory vibe coming off of it, Toothless was NOT happy with connection.

His friends were worried sick, the village was worried sick, the chief was worried sick, and Toothless was more than worried sick about Hiccup and the twins. This thing had his Hiccup…

Toothless roared at the creature, teeth out and eyes formed as slits. The creature narrowed its eyes and screamed/roared at Toothless, the high pitch irritating his ears, but he ignored it.

The two sent roars back and forth, waiting for the other to lung first.

* * *

The creature's scream was heard within the cave the teens were trapped in. Tuffnut and Ruffnut lifting up their heads as the sound reached their ears. Hiccup was awake, but kept still, not wanting another encounter with the thing. The sound sent a shiver up his spine.

"Oh no, it's coming back!" Ruff said, his voice cracking a little. Tuffnut spoke up.

"We're gonna die! Guys it was nice knowing ya, Ruffnut…" Ruff turned her head as far back as she could, "I always wanted to tell you something; that well groomed stuff-yak of ours, it was always mine." He finished.

A Night Fury roar echoed off of the walls. Hiccup's eyes shot open.

"That didn't sound like the thing." Ruffnut observed correctly.

"That was Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed, "Toothelss! **Toothless!**"

* * *

Toothless' ears perked up at the sound of his name, at the sound of his rider's voice. It was nearby! The second called reached him and he pinpointed it towards the left.

The creature heard the call as well, but not only that, it heard the boy's increasing heartbeat. The blood, it was pumping…

Toothless dashed off to the left, not looking back at the challenge given. The beast screamed and rushed Toothless, landing on his back and fighting him to the ground; Toothless twisted around and clawed at the one clawing at him.

* * *

The teens heard a series of whines, screams, growls, and an overall struggle.

"Whoa!" Tuff stated, only being able to imagine what was going on.

"Toothless!" Hiccup hollered again and this time the twins joined him.

"Toothelss!"

"Toothless!"

* * *

The entanglement that was on the ground separated, the creature flying up into the air as Toothless shot a plasma blast. The thing dodged it, and another, and another. It stopped and let out its horrible banshee scream. Ten times worse than a Thunderdrum's with a wider radius range, the scream was more sound then reverberating force.

Toothless shut his eyes and lowered his ears, trying to cover them from the vertigo causing scream. He folded his wings over his head, blocking the view he had with the other dragon.

The creature took this as an opportunity to finish the intruder and dove towards Toothless prone state. But to its shock, the Night Fury unfolded its wings and let out its sonic sonar.

The noise was defining to the brute's ears; crash landing onto the ground in a heap. It got up weakly and hissed at Toothless, but Toothless just let out another blast of his sonar. The thing coward behind its large, leather wings whining from the pain that shot throughout its brain. Before Toothless could get another hit in, the creature flew away retreating to another part of Berk.

Toothless watched it run, sneezing in a way of saying good riddance. He immediately remembered his rider and rushed off towards the scents. He came upon a cave just on the outside of the forest. Dashing in, he used his sonar to see within the dark.

He jumped out into a small aperture, an opening filled with weird white web. He sniffed it for a second before his name was called. His eyes widened and his body relaxed, he ran over and began licking Hiccup's face and rubbing his head all over his rider. Hiccup laughed and giggled, a smile finally coming upon his features, a long wait for his weakened body.

Toothless chomped down upon the web-like substance and ripped it off of his Hiccup. Turning towards the twins, he shot a plasma blast at the strands above them; they unraveled and the twins fell down on the ground.

Hiccup leaned heavily on Toothless' head before steadily getting onto the saddle and clicking in his prosthetic foot. Ruffnut and Tuffnut joined him on Toothless' back, Ruffnut holding onto Tuffnut and Tuffnut holding on Hiccup as Toothless took off out of the cave and into the sunlight.

Next stop, home.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Sorry about this chapter being a little late. My brain wasn't functioning at its usual high imaginative state.**

**I just want to make sure you guys know that this story is not at all a continuation of It Comes at Night. This is a brand new Beast which has been modified and tweaked, and the experiences learned in It Comes at Night have been reset for this story. Basically, Hiccup and the gang know nothing about this creature, the dragons know nothing about this creature, and it is a new dragon for all of them.**

**Also, I'll be going home for Thanksgiving break, being gone for about a week's time. So I'm going to be finishing this story and start A Banished Beast after I come back.**

**Thanks for all of the support and sorry for any typos I missed, because I know I must have a few.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**Scauldron's Cove**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

The teens and Stoick sat in the Academy, standing beside their dragons. They had just come back from another unsuccessful trip which began the slow transition to the unwelcome reality. After days of searching, restless hoping, they all could help but face it, face that the twins and Hiccup might not be coming back.

Astrid's immediately thought was with Hiccup and Toothless, just before Hiccup and them left to find the twins, he told Toothless that he'd be back.

A tear fell at the thought and Astrid quickly brushed it away, her viking upbringing claiming it to be a bad reputation with crying. However, Hiccup would say otherwise. He always talked like he was a viking, or at least tried to be one, but everyone knew he wasn't, and eventually he found that out as well; inviting it in with welcomed arms.

The second thought caused another tear to fall and she silently growled at her weakness. Not wanting to look up at someone else, she pondered in her mind if she was the only one crying. However, no matter how much she fought the possible discovery, she glanced up, but only for a second. Within that second, she saw Snotlout having those "dust" particles in his eyes, and Fishlegs face was hidden from view as his back was facing her. She didn't want to know how Stoick looked right now, or Gobber.

Despite what they've been taught as vikings, they all couldn't stop the tears from trickling down. And they didn't care anymore because they knew it was okay to cry, to mourn.

A sound emitted down from the sky, their heads lifting up towards it as soon as it hit their ears. The object in question, they knew what, or who, it was for it was a Night Fury call. But what shocked them was the fact that Toothless was flying. Each and every one of their breaths stopped and their lungs filled as the connection between the two clicked; smiles blossomed on their lips.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted as he eagerly waited for Toothless to land and the teens jump off. As soon as they did, Stoick rushed over, hauling his son up into the sky before catching him and bringing the boy into a warm and loving hug. Gobber came over, smile abroad, laying a hand on Stoick's shoulder as for the time being Hiccup was the chief's.

Stoick held onto his son, continuing to hug him with his eyes closed; Hiccup's arms wrapped around his father's neck as his eyes too were closed. After their long embrace, Stoick put Hiccup down on his feet, keeping his hands on his son's shoulders as he looked into his eyes. Hiccup tilted his head,

"Dad, are you crying?" He asked, seeing redness around his father's eyes and a few tears falling down from them. Stoick whipped them away,

"No… it's… quite dusty in here, son. I think you might want to clean the Academy." Stoick replied, ignoring the fact that Hiccup knew better.

"See," Snotlout added, "that's exactly what I was saying before."

At this time, now that Hiccup was free, Astrid came over to him and wrapped him up in her own embrace.

Ruff and Tuff walked past the group, "Yeah, we're fine too, nothing happened." Tuffnut retorted. Astrid released her hold on Hiccup and faced all three of them.

"Where were you guys? What happened?"

"Oh you know, got trapped in an underwater cave," Tuff began.

"Got chased by Scauldrons," Ruff added.

"Finally got out only to stumble upon a hideous beast,"

"Which captured us and brought us to its evil lair,"

"From which we were able to escape all thanks to Toothless." Tuff finished. Toothless cooed at them, Hiccup leaning down and hugging his head; Toothless leaned in and closed his eyes.

From this action, Astrid noticed a small red dot on Hiccup's neck; the skin around the area seemingly swollen.

"Hiccup…" she whispered as her hand reached out. Hiccup saw what she was looking at and brought his hands up to the tiny puncture holes. Stoick knelt down and studied the area as well, looking at his son with absolute concern.

Hiccup looked at them, his eyes bouncing from the ground to their eyes; shame and fear evident on his features.

"It's a long story."

* * *

Deep within the burrows of a dark and damp cave laid the creature, the exiled dragon. The thing lay curled up, resting and healing from the fight it experienced with the Night Fury. Its kind had no trouble defending its territory, or its food, from any other dragons, but the Night Fury proved to be at equal ends.

As its head lifted up, its black eyes glanced out towards the exit tunnel; its stomach empty, its throat dry. Its nutrient, its food, such a delicacy… if it focused, it could hear the heartbeat of the boy. But if it was one thing its kind were known for, besides their incredible hearing, besides their speed, besides their thirst for blood; it was their persistence.

If a Banshee found thee type of blood, that blood was theirs.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Alright, unfortunately this was the last chapter, but the next story is its continuation. It should be posted soon, within this week hopefully. Because of change in plans on my Thanksgiving break, I'll be able to post chapters during that time, so no waits for the new story.**

**To treat you guys and get you all worked up for the next story, I'm posting a small sneak peek at the bottom of the page. Thank you all for everything!**

* * *

**A Banished Beast**

**Sneak Peek—Preview**

* * *

_The leaves fell from the tree branches, one by one piling up on the forest's floor. One boot and one metal leg shared a rhythmic pattern across the ground, each allowing the other to pass and let pass. The movement was slow, lifeless, controlled even; hypnotized as a servant. The body and mind had no choice but to approach the beast ahead. No fight had occurred because all will had been destroyed._

_The beast waited diligently for the boy's arrival, watching his every step as he came closer to his grasp. The wind began to pick up, pushing the young viking closer to the demon dragon before the beast itself began to reach out, the two tentacles on its neck extending toward the boy. Invisible forces pulled him in and the two needle-like tentacles inched their way to his neck, each taking a side, before diving into the flesh._

_A sharp pain pricked the boy's body, his eyes closed tight as he winced from the piercing. A small cry escaped his slightly trembling lips, wanting nothing more than to escape the beasts' clutches. He felt himself began to drain away, each part of his body shutting down and dying on him. As his breath began to hitch…_


End file.
